Poision Affairs
by Shaydor
Summary: Orochimaru hires Sasuke as his new assistant, but realises he may have feelings too strong for the workplace. OroSasu. Modern AU. Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

Author's note:

This is a yaoi fanfic. The pairing is Orochimaru and Sasuke. I suppose I should say 'don't like, don't read' even though that might seem obvious.

Yes, this is mostly silly cliché fluff.  
This story is very AU, set in a modern-day city. The characters will probably (definitely) be out-of-character at times, the relationships between characters have changed as well. Oh, and I made the age gap between Sasuke and Orochimaru a bit smaller. And Sasuke's family isn't dead. Wow, is this even Naruto fanfiction anymore? XD

Rated M for mild language and sexual themes. Not sure if there will be a 'lemony' situation yet as I'm not sure I write such scenes well.

Thank you to Inge for the title! (I'm awful at coming up with titles.)

* * *

Orochimaru let out a contented sigh as he locked the door to his office and headed out of the building. The stress of the past few weeks had lifted somewhat after today's interview.

His previous assistant had fallen incurably ill suddenly, leaving Orochimaru with no one to help him out. He refused to get a temporary assistant – he was far too picky to just take anyone in. So his secretary, Kabuto, had scheduled some interviews with a few hopeful youngsters, none of whom had been promising in the least.

Until this afternoon, of course. Orochimaru found himself going over the meeting in his head as he pulled his car out of the parking lot and into the already-quiet street.

_The young man walked into his office and sat down immediately. He gave Orochimaru a basic greeting, and then waited to be spoken to. The other candidates had all been overly friendly, too eager to impress. He wasn't looking for a chatterbox. _

_The younger male was wearing a white dress shirt but no tie, the top button undone and his sleeves rolled up._

"_Sasuke Uchiha." Orochimaru addressed him by his full name as he read the document that had been given to him by Kabuto. It said the boy was twenty years old, and had no previous experience. Why had Kabuto even considered him? Orochimaru exhaled sharply, annoyed. _

_Sasuke ran a hand through his dark hair, looking out of the window._

_Orochimaru wondered how obedient he could be, considering this attitude. "Why do you think you would work well with me?" Orochimaru asked, getting straight to the point._

_The boy glanced back at him before looking out the window again and replying with, "I don't know you. Who knows if we'll work well together? This position would look good on my resume, though."_

Orochimaru was pulled from his thoughts as another driver cut in front of him. He rolled his window down and cursed loudly as the other car raced away.

Sasuke Uchiha had been blunt when he spoke. Orochimaru liked that about him. He hadn't come there spouting bullshit just to get the position, just telling Orochimaru what he thought he wanted to hear. No. he had been honest, knowing what his words could have cost him and yet he was truthful anyway. It was refreshing. Orochimaru had told him to start on Monday, and he had agreed.

Orochimaru usually looked forward to the weekend, but now he could barely wait for Monday to see if his new assistant would live up to his expectations.

He pulled into the parking lot of his usual Friday night hangout – a seedy bar which he hoped was the last place people would think an upper-class businessman like him would be. It was discreet enough for him to be able to get away from it all for a while.

He had developed his own little tradition of having exactly one drink every Friday at this place, then going home to watch television. He found it was the perfect way to relax after a long week. Even though he often still had work to do on weekends, it was his favourite way to escape for a few hours.

Once inside, one corner of his mouth lifted, even though he tried not to smile. Two of the regulars, Tsunade and Jiraiya, were arguing near the bar. They were half the reason Orochimaru kept coming here – they were much better entertainment than going to a theatre or cinema.

Orochimaru took a seat next to the quarrelling couple. Although neither of them noticed him, he let his lips form another small smile. These two were the closest thing he had to friends besides Kabuto, although he often wondered about Kabuto because most of their relationship consisted of work.

The old bartender came over to where Orochimaru sat. "Orochimaru…"

"Sarutobi," Orochimaru replied stiffly.

The two had had a minor disagreement weeks ago and they still weren't back on the best of terms.

"The usual?" Sarutobi asked, wiping out a glass.

"The usual," Orochimaru confirmed, eyeing the older man as he scooped a few blocks of ice into the glass and then topped it up with the most expensive whiskey a place like that had to offer.

Tsunade and Jiraiya finally sat back down next to where Orochimaru sat. They both seemed surprised to see him, even though he was there every Friday around the same time, and so were they. They started chatting with him and he answered whenever necessary, taking small sips of his drink.

When he was finished, he nodded goodbye to everyone and took his leave, ready for a night of television and hanging out with his cats.

* * *

Sasuke opened the door to his flat, wiping at the sweat that was running lightly down his neck. It was a particularly warm night, but he had forced himself to go for his evening run regardless. He couldn't afford to slack off.

He went straight to his refrigerator, took out an ice cold bottle of water and gulped it down in one go. He wondered vaguely if he should do something celebratory since he'd landed a job at such an esteemed company. He still had no idea how he'd managed to pull that off. A week ago, he'd been working in a café.

He smiled to himself as he started up his laptop and logged into Facebook. He was on the site every day, yet rarely posted any comments or status updates. He just… observed.

Should he post a status update mentioning that he got the job – just to rub it in Itachi's face? Would Itachi even read it? Would he care? It wasn't even a great position but the company itself was quite a feat – especially for the inexperienced Sasuke – and he would be working directly with Orochimaru…

He decided against announcing it. Perhaps it would be better to at least wait until Orochimaru decided whether or not he was fit for the position.

Sasuke sighed deeply as he scrolled past things he didn't care about. Something caught his eye, and he blushed when he realised what it was.

Sakura had posted a photo of herself and a few friends. Most of them didn't matter. The one whom she had her arm draped around in the photo did, though. Naruto…

Dammit! He should have blocked Naruto from his Facebook and hidden all of Sakura's posts but he just didn't seem to have the heart to do it.

Sasuke clenched his fists tightly and forcefully blinked back tears. It had only been one night but it had been the only time he had ever felt that way – so connected to someone. He had been attracted to Naruto ever since they had met in their teen years, but Naruto had always wanted Sakura...

After all this time, seeing a photo of Naruto still made him feel things he'd rather not. He was angry at himself more than Naruto, for believing that there could have been something more between them. Regret made his chest ache as he thought about it all.

He tried to push the thoughts from his mind and closed his browser. He wandered over to the window, opened it, and lit up a cigarette. It was a habit he was trying to kick, but right now he really just needed something to help him calm down.

Sasuke exhaled and watched as the smoke dissipated into the night. Would he ever find anyone to heal the wound left by Naruto Uzumaki?

* * *

Orochimaru slopped cat food into two bowls and then threw the spoon into the sink. The two cats at his feet meowed loudly.

"Yes, yes," he told them, setting the bowls on the floor and heading toward the already steaming hot shower.

Every morning, the two tabby cats would wake him at exactly five o'clock and order him to give them their breakfast. This morning, for no apparent reason, they had waited until six-thirty, and now he was late for work.

He stepped into the shower, thinking of his new assistant. What would he be like? Orochimaru didn't mind his attitude but hoped the boy would at least be obedient. He recalled the way that Sasuke had run his hand through his hair and gazed out of the window so nonchalantly during their interview.

Orochimaru realised he was getting a little too excited by his thoughts. Had he only given the boy the position because he found him attractive?

"I don't have time for this," he muttered to himself, squeezing water from his long hair and trying to ignore his arousal as he dried himself off. He really needed to leave soon, and didn't want to think about the fact that thoughts of his new assistant were making him feel this way.

He got dressed as quickly as possible and made his way out of his luxurious flat, petting both cats quickly on the way out. "See you guys later," he cooed.

Both meowed in response as he closed and locked the door, and then rushed down to his car.

* * *

Sasuke felt nervous but was determined not to show it. He had been sitting outside of Orochimaru's office for an hour already, but his boss had not shown up yet. Kabuto was at his desk, working without even as much as a glance at Sasuke besides a quick greeting when he'd come in.

Sasuke had gone shopping over the weekend and bought some smart clothing for work. Before, he hadn't even owned a tie and had used his only smart pair of pants and shirt for the interview. He hadn't seen much of a need to own such clothing when all he had worn before were his casual clothes at home and the uniform of whatever job he was clinging to at the time. He'd asked his friend Gaara to go shopping with him since he was no good at these things.

Gaara had been more than willing to help him – in fact, he'd kept Sasuke shopping for much longer than he intended to – but Sasuke couldn't help but wish Sakura had been the one to go shopping with him, like they had always done when they were younger.

Sasuke tried to think of other things, and luckily at that moment Orochimaru came through the door, sweeping right past Sasuke and straight into his office.

Sasuke stared wide-eyed at the now-open door, unsure of what to do.

Kabuto cleared his throat and said, "You should probably go in there and see what he needs you to do." He smiled at the younger man and went back to his work.

Well, there was no point in being shy about it. Sasuke was pretty sure that Orochimaru would prefer it if he was ready to take orders at any time.

His knees felt a bit weak as he walked into Orochimaru's office but he refused to let it show. "Good morning…" He trailed off. Should he refer to him as 'sir'? Or just by his name? The fact that he kept his surname so secret didn't help. Everyone just referred to him as Orochimaru. Surely it would be fine to just call him by his name, then?

"Orochimaru is fine," the older man said, as though reading Sasuke's thoughts. "Good morning, Sasuke. I need you to help Kabuto file those documents over there." His back was turned towards Sasuke as he rummaged through some files.

Sasuke looked over to where a huge stack of paper stood. He barely managed to stop an irritated sound from escaping his mouth. He held his tongue instead and walked over and picked up the heavy pile.

"After that, I'll need you to run some errands around town, including hand-delivering an important document. I'm sure you can at least handle that," Orochimaru added, his tone sarcastic.

Sasuke wondered briefly if this was how the man always acted. He hadn't even looked at Sasuke at all, in fact, it seemed as though he was avoiding doing so.

It certainly wouldn't be the first time that Sasuke had been blown off and barely acknowledged by those around him.

* * *

'_First day working at OrochiMed done and dusted,'_ Sasuke typed. He stared at it for a moment and then hit backspace. It seemed too casual – he hadn't even told anyone he had the job yet.

He let his fingers hover above the keyboard as he thought, and then typed, _'I officially have a job at OrochiMed! First day went well…'_ No, that also didn't sound right. He hit backspace again and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

Truthfully, his day hadn't gone all that well. Orochimaru had barely looked at him, barking orders for him to run around town, delivering and fetching things. Although what had Sasuke expected? A kind boss and simple office work?

It sure was easier to work in cafés and pizza shops, but this would put him on the right path. He would no longer be the black sheep of the family with 'no real job or ambition'. He would finally live up to his family's expectations and standards.

He'd never worked in an office environment before so, admittedly, hadn't known what to expect. He found himself hoping that Orochimaru always needed him to run errands because that way he wouldn't have to be around the sullen man all day.

He decided that Orochimaru was kind of an asshole. _Although I can't really complain since he's so hot. _His eyes flew open as he realised what he was thinking.

Sasuke smiled to himself. Fine, he would admit that he found the older man incredibly attractive. He would only ever admit this to himself, though.

Orochimaru was probably quite a bit older than him, he presumed. Like… thirty-five, maybe? He also probably had women falling at his feet – he was gorgeous _and_ rich, after all, so everyone probably wanted a piece of him. Sasuke wondered what the chances were that Orochimaru was into men…

_Oh my god, this is my boss that I'm thinking about. Get a grip, Sasuke!_

He laughed out loud. He'd seen one photo of Naruto and now he was falling for the first nice-looking guy he came into contact with. Three years later and that damned blonde could still turn him into an emotional wreck.

Sasuke eyed the pack of cigarettes on his desk but decided it was time for his evening run. Exercise helped him forget that he wanted to smoke, and also would probably help him forget about the two men on his mind.

The weather was slightly cooler this evening, with rain clouds threatening above Sasuke as he jogged down the familiar streets. As he rounded a corner, he saw a flash of yellow hair. He panicked for a second, until the man turned around and Sasuke realised it was a complete stranger.

He picked up his speed and pushed himself harder as he continued on his route. It seemed that these days he just couldn't escape his past.

A tear rolled down his cheek and he angrily swiped at it, and then at his forehead, so that it would seem as though he was just wiping sweat from his face. He hated the fact that these feelings kept resurfacing.

Cool drops of rain began to spatter on the sidewalk where he ran but he didn't care until he almost ran into a dark-haired woman who was coming out of a jewellery store.

The woman stepped back, her hand pressed against her chest. Sasuke looked up, right into the eyes of his mother.

"Sa-sasuke," she stammered, shocked to have bumped into her second son.

"Hello, mom," Sasuke mumbled awkwardly, trying in vain to fix his damp appearance.

The woman put her hand on his shoulder regardless. "How have you been? I haven't heard from you in weeks."

Sasuke wanted to mention the fact that she hadn't tried to contact him. He always had to make contact first, and just hope that whichever relative he was trying to communicate with would respond. He saw this as an opportunity to give her the news. Perhaps Itachi would realise how Sasuke had grown up if he heard the news from their mother. Would it seem like it was no big deal to Sasuke that he had gotten such an amazing job?

"I have a new job," he told his mother as they stood under the awning of the store, "at OrochiMed."

Sasuke's mother frowned as she asked, "Oh really? Doing what?"

Did she even believe him? Sasuke's heart sank as he realised that it was probable that she thought she was just playing along with him trying to fit into the family. "Just… uh…" he trailed off.

"Sasuke…" his mother started, reaching toward her son again.

"Forget it," he mumbled, shaking her off. "See you whenever." He started jogging again without even waiting for her response.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note:

Yes, Haku and Zabuza are cats. I loved Haku enough to think that if he were to be reincarnated he'd be a cat, living in the lap of luxury, and well, Zabuza wanted to be with him in the afterlife, so here's my way of still having them together in some way *gets emotional* Anyway, on to the story XD

* * *

"Haku! Zabuza!" Orochimaru called as he entered his flat. The two cats came running to him, mostly because they knew he would be giving them their dinner.

He petted them and headed straight to the kitchen, loosening his tie on the way. Today had been filled with meetings so luckily he hadn't had to put up with having to watch the way Sasuke moved around the office at all.

"I wonder how you two would feel if I brought a stranger home, hmmm?" he wondered aloud as he dished cat food into the two bowls. They meowed hungrily in response. Orochimaru sighed deeply, reminding himself to try not to think about such things since the possibility of them happening was extremely low.

He gave the cats their dinner then wandered into the spacious living room and sat aimlessly on the couch. He'd brought home some work to do but knew he probably wouldn't be able to concentrate. He needed to sort out what he was feeling so that he could carry on with more important things.

Orochimaru had to admit to himself Sasuke was damn hot. At work, he was dealing with it surprisingly well. He could easily stay arrange for Sasuke to be separated from him all day, and his work kept him busy enough to not have time to think about what was going on. Sure, there had been numerous moments over the past nine working days where he had been caught off-guard by the way Sasuke moved… by his scent… by the way he gently moved his hair out of his eyes…

Orochimaru shook his head vigorously – this train of thought wasn't helping at all. Zabuza leapt up onto the couch where he sat and started licking his paws clean. Haku sat on the carpet and eyed Orochimaru suspiciously.

"What should I do?" he murmured out loud. In response, Zabuza curled up on the couch to have a nap and Haku sauntered away towards the bedroom.

Orochimaru stood up and headed out onto the balcony. The view from this high up was amazing, and the breeze helped clear his head.

Firing Sasuke seemed like the most logical thing to do, but that would mean he wouldn't be able to see him anymore. Well… he could always confess his feelings and explain that that was why they could no longer work together, couldn't he?

No. Orochimaru shook his head. He would surely be rejected and lose Sasuke anyway. Keeping him around wouldn't help though, because an office romance would never do, and the way things were going he wouldn't be able to hide his feelings forever.

The problem was that he was struggling to focus, and things seemed to be getting worse. At this rate, his entire company would crumble just because some seductive young thing had walked into his office. That was the worst part, Orochimaru realised – the fact that he was pretty sure Sasuke wasn't even trying to be seductive. He was just naturally so alluring. He probably had girls queuing up to date him.

Orochimaru had never been the type to worry about falling in love. He'd only dated three people in his life before and each relationship hadn't lasted that long. He had thought that he was perfectly okay with not having anyone, but Sasuke had come along and changed his mind all too quickly.

As he watched the city below him he knew that he would have to dismiss Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke had never come to fully appreciate Fridays because he had always worked jobs where weekends were also workdays. Fridays were actually usually more hectic than any other day. But now that he had a nine-to-five type of job, he could look forward to the weekend.

When he got into the office, Orochimaru's door was ajar. Strange, he had thought he was early. Checking his watch, he realised he was. Kabuto wasn't at his desk yet.

Should he go in there?

Orochimaru suddenly appeared in the doorway, the office dark behind him. "Sasuke, in my office, please."

Sasuke nervously approached the door as Orochimaru opened the blinds behind him and let the early morning sunlight filter into the room. He gestured toward the couch that lined the far corner instead of the chair in front of his desk.

Sasuke nervously sat down on the edge of one of the soft cushions and stared at the carpet, holding his breath.

Orochimaru sat down and was silent for a long moment. "Sasuke," he started eventually.

Sasuke looked up, meeting Orochimaru's golden eyes. There was tenderness in the man's voice that he hadn't been expecting at all. His heartbeat sped up significantly.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to let you go. This isn't working out," the older man said softly.

Sasuke's started to feel dizzy. What had he done wrong? He had done everything that the man had asked him to. This couldn't be happening. He had counted on this job to prove his worth to his family and… and he had started developing such strong feelings for Orochimaru. Perhaps it was better to have his heart broken before things went any further.

In the back of his mind, he knew that he should act professional about this, but emotion won and he stood up abruptly as tears stung his eyes. He started to make his way out of the room but Orochimaru grabbed his wrist.

Before he knew what was happening, their lips had met and their bodies were pressing firmly against each other. Without even thinking, Sasuke broke away from the other man. This was all too much. His eyes widened as he stared at Orochimaru for a fleeting moment and then grabbed his bag and ran out of the building.

* * *

Orochimaru lifted his hand to signal old Sarutobi. The older man's eyes widened but he came over and asked Orochimaru if he'd like another. This had never happened before, and even Tsunade and Jiraiya stopped their usual banter and were silent for a few moments as the old bartender brought the glass over to the dark-haired man.

Jiraiya's eye twitched and Tsunade stared blatantly as they tried to figure out what was going on in with the quiet, mysterious man, but Orochimaru's head was down, his hair covering most of his face, so it was difficult to tell. They whispered amongst themselves, trying to figure out if he seemed even more sullen than usual this evening or if they were just imagining it.

Orochimaru wasn't paying attention to them, though. He was far too busy drowning in his misery. He really wasn't usually like this – losing people didn't really faze him. He never let himself get close enough to anyone for it to matter.

He hadn't let himself get close to Sasuke, though. He didn't really know anything about the boy besides what had been on the document Kabuto gave him. He'd barely spoken to him in the two weeks they had worked together besides to give him brusque orders. Had he fired Sasuke, exactly? They hadn't made it official per se, but he doubted he would see him in the office on Monday. Or any other day, for that matter.

Orochimaru realised that the boy could sue him for sexual harassment.

He groaned slightly and buried his face in his hands, not even caring who was watching. He'd fucked up, not only with any chances he may have had with Sasuke, but also with his job. He downed the last of his drink and didn't even think twice before ordering a third. He knew he couldn't handle alcohol as well as most others, but right now it was making him feel better.

On around his fifth drink, Orochimaru chuckled quietly to himself, but it felt so good that it turned into a loud cackle.

It was late and there were only a few people left, mostly the regulars who stayed until old Sarutobi kicked them out, sometimes quite literally. Everyone was staring at Orochimaru, a few murmuring between themselves. They had never seen him like this before.

A young woman by the name of Anko finally broke the tension. "Looks like this guy is finally letting loose!" she announced. She grabbed his hand and led him to the small area of the bar that was sometimes used as a dance floor.

Ordinarily, Orochimaru didn't dance, nor did he feel attracted to women, but he the alcohol had gotten the better of him and before he knew it, he was clumsily swaying about with a woman he didn't know.

* * *

Sasuke lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had been doing so for the past three hours. He couldn't sleep, yet he couldn't find the strength to get up and do something else. His thoughts kept alternating between the fact he'd lost the only job he'd ever had that his family might have been proud of, the way Orochimaru had kissed him, and wondering what he had done wrong in the first place.

Being fired and trying to figure out what he'd done to deserve it was getting him down, but the kiss was really confusing him. In a way, he wished he'd stayed and given in, but that probably would have complicated things further, so he was glad he'd reacted the way he did. Still, his hand moved up toward his mouth, his fingers lingering where Orochimaru's lips had been.

The urge to have a cigarette was overwhelming, and Sasuke eventually gave in, going over to the open window so that he wouldn't fill his room with smoke. Inhaling deeply, he realised for the first time that it was possible that Orochimaru had fired him because he had feelings for him. They couldn't see each other whilst working together, right?

"Tch." Sasuke let out a long sigh, smoke escaping from his mouth and nostrils slowly. It was possible, but highly improbable. He'd done something wrong and that's why he'd been fired. It was that simple. So why had Orochimaru kissed him like that? Why had he sounded so tender?

Sasuke stubbed his cigarette out on the windowsill and threw the butt into the wastebasket across the room. On Monday he'd have to start looking for a new job. It was better this way – to cut all ties with this man before things turned out exactly as they had with Naruto.

* * *

Orochimaru opened his eyes and dimly wondered where he was. This didn't seem to be his bedroom, or even his house. He was incredibly thirsty and his head hurt. Was he sick? It was extremely rare that he got sick.

He tried to stand up but felt so dizzy and thought he might even throw up. He sat on the edge of the couch he was on, his head in his hands.

Wait. He was on a couch somewhere. He wasn't wearing a shirt. He felt so awful. What had happened?

He forced himself to stand up but felt even dizzier and crumpled back down onto the couch, groaning loudly.

"Sir, please don't strain yourself too much," a voice said from somewhere behind him.

"Kabuto?" Orochimaru said, his voice hoarse.

Kabuto appeared with a plate of food, a cup of coffee and a tall glass of juice. He set them down on the coffee table and smiled his friendly smile.

The strong scents mixing all together made Orochimaru nauseas. "What's going on?"

Before Kabuto could answer, though, Orochimaru remembered that he had gone to the bar the night before as usual, but had had much more to drink than he should have. All because of what had happened with Sasuke. He couldn't remember what had happened for most of the night, though. He groaned loudly again.

"Let's just say you had a rather rough night," Kabuto answered. "Eat and drink up."

Orochimaru watched the other man walk away and into what he presumed was the kitchen. He'd never been to Kabuto's place before. Kabuto was acting as professional as always. Had they…? Orochimaru shook his head violently at the thought, bringing back all the dizziness from before.

He forced himself to take a small sip of the warm coffee, knowing that it should help get rid of his hangover. He realised how ridiculous his actions had been. Drinking to numb his pain wasn't going to help his situation. He needed to think logically about all of this and come up with a plan, whether it involved trying to win Sasuke over or not.

"What do you think of Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked as Kabuto entered the room again. He was starting to feel better after he'd forced most of his breakfast down.

"You're asking what I think," Kabuto said, "but I know that doesn't matter to you. I think that it's your way of asking what I _know_ about him, am I correct?"

Orochimaru trusted Kabuto enough to be truthful with him. Kabuto knew him better than anyone else and was also extremely observant, so even though Orochimaru had tried to hide it, there was no use in lying now, anyway. "I really didn't mean for this to happen."

Kabuto smiled knowingly and sat down next to his boss.

"I fired him, and then kissed him," Orochimaru said, sounding as though he didn't quite believe it himself. He gave a short, bitter laugh.

"Not really the best way to go after someone's heart, sir," Kabuto said, a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Unfortunately, I don't have any information for you on any of his past relationships."

"Surely you were able to find something?" Orochimaru asked, sadly realising that he sounded like a desperate teenager. He was thirty-six years old, for god's sake.

"Not even his Facebook profile states his sexual orientation," Kabuto revealed, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Several years of his history on the site didn't show much at all, let alone anything romantic. He doesn't seem to have any other online accounts. Not any linked to his real name, anyway."

Orochimaru didn't respond. Kabuto was particularly good at pulling up information on just about anyone. Why was it that when it came to the one person Orochimaru wanted to find out about most, Kabuto could find nothing?

Kabuto cleared his throat. "Perhaps employing him was a bad idea, sir, but it might be for the best that things have turned out this way."

"What do you mean?" Orochimaru asked, growing annoyed.

"Well, now that you are no longer working together, it might be more appropriate to ask him to go out with you," Kabuto said. "If that's what you wish."

Orochimaru stared at Kabuto incredulously. He was no good at the whole dating thing, and he'd already ruined his chances with Sasuke. But then again, what more could go wrong?


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note:

I'm sure you've noticed by now that Orochimaru and Sasuke's relationship is, well, somewhat dysfunctional. It's not going to get much better anytime soon. Sorry XD

Also, this story is becoming a lot longer than I originally planned. When it first came to my mind, it was going to be three chapters or so, but it's been taking on a life of its own.

* * *

There was a knock at the door, rousing Sasuke from his sleep. He grabbed his phone to check the time. 8am? He wasn't used to having visitors, especially not those who would call so early on a Saturday morning. He figured it must be… the maintenance guy? Or a delivery? He didn't recall ordering anything online recently. He supposed he had to get up soon anyway so that he could start job-hunting again at some point.

He sighed deeply and got up and snatched his jeans up off of the floor as there was another knock, this time louder.

"I'm coming!" he shouted, annoyed. He'd only gotten three or four hours of sleep as he'd been up most of the night.

He opened the door irritably to reveal… his brother? Sasuke squinted and stepped back, allowing space for Itachi to come in if he so wished.

Itachi sauntered past him and sat down on the only couch in the small living room. "Sasuke," he said by way of greeting, "you look like shit."

Sasuke's brows knitted together as he closed the door as calmly as he could. He took a deep breath and said, "I didn't get much sleep last night." He walked into the open plan kitchen. "Something to drink?"

"Just some cold water would be fine," Itachi replied.

Sasuke peered into the fridge, glad that's what his brother had asked for because that was all he had. He usually bought groceries on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning, depending when he was free. He had completely forgotten about it yesterday.

He poured some water into a glass. "So to what do I owe this visit?"

"Haven't seen you in a while," Itachi responded, turning on the TV and putting his feet on the coffee table. "Just thought I'd stop by. Also, I wanted to congratulate you on your new job. I could have sent you an email but wanted to do it in person."

Sasuke was glad his back was turned to Itachi as he put the water jug back into the fridge. He panicked for a moment. What should he say? If he said he'd been fired, his family would never believe he'd actually had the job. The fact that Itachi had said anything at all meant that his mother had believed him after all, and the rest of his family probably believed it, too, then. He couldn't tell them yet.

"Thanks," he said, as calmly as he possibly could, walking back to the living room area. He gave his brother the glass of water and sat down expressionlessly.

"So how's it going?" Itachi asked, flipping through channels.

Sasuke wasn't sure whether he was asking about the job or about his life in general. Well, the job was now non-existent and his life was pretty much screwed again at the moment, so he had to lie either way. "Fine."

There was silence between them for a few moments as Itachi continued channel-surfing. Sasuke remembered that he had bought a game a few months ago that the two of them could play together, so he went over and picked up both controllers. The brothers spent a good part of the morning playing video games amiably until Itachi had to leave due to prior arrangements.

It had been a long time since Sasuke had just hung out with Itachi like that. He was really grateful though – it had cheered him up immensely which was something he'd really needed.

* * *

Orochimaru sat at the small table on his balcony, holding his phone in his hand. Sasuke's number was already typed up on the screen. He wanted to press 'dial' but he really wasn't sure. Was it too soon?

He was feeling a hundred times better than when he'd woken up. Zabuza and Haku had been mightily pissed off as they hadn't been given their dinner the night before, or their breakfast this morning. He'd given them food the moment he'd arrived back home and they'd both wolfed it down and then ignored him for the rest of the day. Orochimaru felt really guilty about it, and so still felt rather miserable because it was just another thing he'd screwed up badly over the past two days.

The sun was setting as Orochimaru finally pressed dial. His palms were sweating and he had to clear his throat. He presumed Sasuke would decide not to answer when he saw who was calling. It would be understandable, after all. He let it ring for a while, anyway.

He was about to end the call when the ringing finally stopped, and he heard Sasuke say, "Hello?"

Orochimaru's voice caught in his throat as he panicked slightly. Eventually he managed to say, "Sasuke, I called to apologise for what happened yesterday." He remembered Kabuto's advice to not be too formal as this was no longer business, so he tried to soften his tone. "I'd like to… see you sometime so that we can discuss it."

There was silence on the other end for an agonising few seconds. "Alright," Sasuke replied.

Orochimaru hadn't truly expected the younger man to agree. He didn't have much time to think, so he asked, "Does lunch tomorrow suit you?"

"Uh…" Sasuke hesitated. "Sure."

They agreed upon a restaurant at which they would meet, and then ended the conversation.

As Orochimaru put his phone down he breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe things wouldn't turn out too badly after all. Sasuke had agreed to meet him, at least, so that surely meant that he hadn't destroyed his chances completely.

Perhaps Sasuke just wanted his job back. As much as Orochimaru wanted to, though, he wouldn't be able to re-employ him. It would be disastrous.

Haku wandered outside and sat near Orochimaru's chair. It seemed his cats were no longer avoiding him, too. Things were starting to look up.

* * *

Sasuke nervously stepped into the restaurant. The only time he went to kind-of-fancy places like this was on the rare occasion he was invited out with his family. He'd fretted for an hour over whether he should wear something sort of smart for this, and finally he'd picked out good jeans and a collared shirt. Even dressed neatly and with it being a Sunday afternoon, he felt like it might not be enough. Knowing Orochimaru, he was probably expected to show up in a suit.

He'd walked to the restaurant since it was only several blocks from his flat, and it had been hot outside, so he hoped he didn't smell of sweat, even though he hadn't felt himself sweating on the way there. Luckily he was used to walking around, since he didn't have a car.

He felt annoyed at himself. Why did he care suddenly? He hadn't worried about dressing smartly before, and he was almost sure he smelled just fine. Almost.

He was pleasantly surprised when he was shown to the table reserved for them. Mostly because Orochimaru was actually there before him, but also because the older man was dressed semi-casually as well.

Sasuke relaxed a little as he sat down and exchanged greetings with his former employer. They both ordered sparkling water – Sasuke just following suit since he actually disliked the stuff – and after receiving the drinks almost immediately, the waiter left them alone for a while.

Sasuke remained quiet. He really wasn't sure what to say, anyway.

Orochimaru sighed as he swished the liquid around a bit in his glass. "I apologise for the way things happened on Friday," he began. "I let the situation spiral out of control. I had no intention of that happening."

Sasuke looked down at the table but still said nothing.

"I may not have made this clear but… we can't work together due to the feelings I've developed for you," Orochimaru confessed. He said the last part too quickly, rushing to get the words out before he decided not to say them at all.

Sasuke's eyes widened and his breathing became visible. It looked as though the younger man was struggling to comprehend what he had heard. Orochimaru tried to remain calm and patient while he waited for the other's response. Perhaps it would be dramatic – he'd get up from the table abruptly and run from the restaurant, the same way he'd fled Orochimaru's office. Or maybe he would get angry because the older man kept making advances on him. Orochimaru smirked to himself, admitting defeat already but glad that he had at least tried, since it was easier to let go than to have not known if there was a chance at all.

Orochimaru took a long sip of sparkling water, ready to thank Sasuke for his time and end the conversation once and for all.

"I feel the same way," Sasuke said quietly.

Orochimaru choked slightly as he quickly set his glass down and then stared intently at the handsome young man in front of him. Had he heard correctly? He almost never misheard things… What were the chances of this actually being true?

Sasuke was still looking down at the table as he reached for Orochimaru's hand.

Orochimaru let Sasuke take his hand and their eyes met. He was sure this was the first time he had seen Sasuke smile, which made him smile too. He could barely believe this was happening, and he hoped it wasn't just a joke, perhaps set up by Kabuto.

Orochimaru refused to let it seem as though he was nervous, though. He leaned back casually in his chair but left his hand resting with Sasuke's. "You ready to order something to eat, then?"

* * *

After lunch, they ended up taking a short walk in the park that was near the restaurant. Sasuke found out that Orochimaru didn't like dogs that much, when one playfully came up to them while playing fetch with its owner.

Sasuke considered suggesting to Orochimaru that they have some ice cream from the stand in the central area of the park. He imagined himself eating it in a cute manner like in the movies, where some might remain on his lip and Orochimaru would kiss it away.

Sasuke blushed and decided against it. They still hadn't spoken about the kiss that had happened between them on Friday. When they parted ways today, would they kiss goodbye? Would they kiss before then, even? Would they talk about Friday's kiss at any point?

He had been panicking too much when Orochimaru had kissed him, and the kiss itself had been so sudden and rushed that it was hard to say he had enjoyed it. He really wanted to try again though, under better circumstances of course. Sasuke's heart was pounding as he thought about it. He glanced over at Orochimaru as they strolled along under some tall trees.

He blushed even more furiously as Orochimaru took his hand as they walked along, a little ashamed that after all these years he still couldn't control such a basic thing.

_This is a big mistake. _Sasuke's conscience scolded him. He didn't want to admit it, though, and pushed the thought away. He hadn't just let go and had such a good time in so long – he wouldn't let himself ruin it.

"As much as I'd love to, I can't stay much longer," Orochimaru announced, stopping under a tree and pulling Sasuke along with him. He held the boy close to him and continued, "I have some work to do before tomorrow morning and thinking of you all weekend has not helped me progress at all."

"Good luck finding a new assistant, especially one as good as I was," Sasuke joked, slightly surprised when Orochimaru smirked at the joke, but also suddenly worried. What if he acted this way with each assistant he employed? Perhaps they were just playthings that he hired to keep him entertained.

Sasuke forgot about his doubts quickly as the other man finally leaned in for a kiss. This time, Sasuke was more than ready for it, kissing Orochimaru back passionately, his arms around the paler man's neck.

As they broke apart, Sasuke realised that he was falling for Orochimaru much faster than he wanted to admit. Surely this he was going to regret this.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note:  
A couple of new POVs! Sorry that this chapter took so long! I thought I'd posted this one already but saw that I have a chapter and a half sitting on my pc.

* * *

Sasuke only checked his email inbox again the following morning before heading out to get the morning paper so that he could finally start hunting for a new job. He'd already lost two days between moping about and then going out with Orochimaru, which, the more he thought about it, he was beginning to regret.

There was an email from Itachi that had been sent the day before, and when he read it his heart almost stopped.

_Did I see you making out with Orochimaru today? What exactly did he hire you as?!_

Itachi's emails usually had a formal tone to them, so the fact that this email threw all of his usual rules out of the window freaked Sasuke out even more. He hoped that Itachi hadn't discussed this with anyone else. Sasuke's fingers shook as he typed his response.

_It's complicated. I'm no longer working for him. Please tell me you haven't spoken to anyone about this._

Sasuke lit up a cigarette to calm his nerves. He was really struggling to quit with everything that had been going on lately.

He waited for a reply for about fifteen minutes but then decided he had to go out and start his day. He didn't have time to lose worrying about Itachi's response which, coming from a man as busy as his brother, might only arrive that evening.

Sasuke stood outside the store and flipped through the paper. There were a few basic positions open (waiters needed, store clerk wanted – experience a must, and so on), so Sasuke headed back home so that he could call each number listed in the quiet of his flat.

The first place he called claimed that the position had already been filled, as they had placed the ad on Friday.

The second place said that they were looking for women only, although they hadn't specified that in the ad.

Only one out of all the places he called had agreed to give him an interview. It was a bar, which Sasuke wasn't too sure about since he had no previous experience working in such a place and barely even walked into bars or clubs himself. Oh well, work was work, and he had all too much experience waiting tables, which was surely similar.

At the beginning of high school, Sasuke had had big dreams of becoming an author or an artist. He'd always had a creative streak in him and those were his biggest goals. Now, he seemed to have no goals. He was going nowhere in life. He kept most of his jobs for only several months at a time, never working towards anything, simply working to stay alive. Where had he gone wrong?

The person at the bar had told him to come by any time after six that evening. Sasuke figured that he could spend the rest of the day searching online for any other job opportunities.

He started up his computer and resisted the urge to log onto Facebook. He didn't need any distractions, especially if Naruto popped up into his newsfeed again… dammit, he was already thinking about him without even going onto the site anyway. Well then, there was no harm in logging in for a short while, he decided.

Three notifications and one message. He clicked on the notifications first, to see that they were all from someone he had gone to school with. Kiba. He had liked Sasuke's profile picture, which had last been updated almost a year ago. He'd also liked two other photos of Sasuke, both old as well.

It seemed strange that he would pay any attention to such old photos, especially since Sasuke didn't make his presence known on the site most of the time.

Sasuke went into Kiba's profile but regretted it slightly when he saw how handsome the other boy had become in the three years since high school. He went through some of Kiba's photos, curiosity getting the better of him.

_What's wrong with me?_ Sasuke wondered as he clicked through the photos. He usually wasn't the type to have his heart flutter every time he saw a handsome man. He usually kept his distance and tried to suppress any sexual feelings, especially after what had happened with Naruto. Most of the time he refused to give in to such urges because he always got too emotionally attached and his heart would end up broken in some way or another.

Yet he had convinced himself that he had fallen in love with his boss, and then was ogling other boys online.

Thinking of Orochimaru made him remember his brother's email. He couldn't see Orochimaru again. It was all just too complicated. He would have to let go of the man before things got any worse.

He bit his lip as a picture of Kiba at the beach loaded on his screen. The tanned young man was shirtless, leaning casually against a rock while three girls in bathing suits stood in the background. Sasuke barely noticed the girls, however. He moaned a little as his eyes roamed over Kiba's well-defined chest muscles, trying to imagine what he looked like without those boardshorts on, forgetting all about the fact that there was still a message in his inbox.

* * *

Sakura sat next to Naruto on their bed, using Facebook on her phone. She wondered if Sasuke would ever reply to her message. She checked again, but it didn't show that he had even seen it yet. It seemed as though he didn't really come online that much, she noted. She could always try texting him, assuming he hadn't changed his phone number in all this time.

Throughout high school they had been best friends, until he and Naruto had had some sort of falling out. She still had no idea what that was about, as Naruto refused to even talk about Sasuke, and Sasuke had never really opened up to her any more after that.

She sighed audibly, putting her phone down and turning over onto her side.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, not pausing as he typed away on his laptop, finishing up an assignment that was due the next day.

Sakura felt as though they barely spent time together these days, since they both worked full-time and Naruto studied as well. She almost wished that they were back in high school again, even though that was before she and Naruto had really started dating. It seemed as though everything had been simpler.

"Nothing," Sakura replied, "I'm just thinking…" Her sentence trailed off as she let out a small hiccup as tears started to fall.

Naruto put his laptop down on the floor next to the bed and moved over to Sakura. He put his arm around her, knowing that it was better to not ask and rather just comfort her for now. She would probably talk about whatever was bothering her when she was done crying. He'd gotten so used to her being overemotional that it didn't bother him all that much anymore.

Eventually her sobbing died down and Sakura took a deep breath before saying, "I just miss how things used to be. I miss Sasuke. He used to be my best friend and… I mean, I guess it's normal for people to grow apart from each other after high school but…" She trailed off, leaving her sentence unfinished.

Naruto didn't say anything. Hearing Sasuke's name made his blood boil, as it always did since that night. He would probably never admit to Sakura what had happened and he was pretty sure Sasuke never had. If she started hanging out with Sasuke again, she might find out.

He knew that he couldn't stop her from seeing him again but he was also so protective of her and didn't want anything to ruin their relationship. He considered things he might tell her that would convince her not to see him. The only things he could think up were lies, and he didn't want to lie to Sakura.

How would she feel if she found out about the one thing he had been hiding from her all this time? Naruto decided it would be best to contact Sasuke himself, before things got out of hand.

* * *

Sasuke started his new job at the bar on Tuesday evening. It wasn't ideal but it was temporary, just until he found something better.

The owner and bartender was an old man named Sarutobi. The bar itself wasn't the most upmarket place Sasuke had ever seen – scratch that, it was downright shady – but Sasuke told himself again that it was only temporary. He really needed to take the first job he could find because he needed the money and also needed to get his mind off of things.

He wondered when he would be paid out for the two weeks he had worked with Orochimaru. He'd left the office so hastily that they hadn't sorted that out, he had yet to be contacted by Kabuto or anyone else from the company and he certainly wasn't going to go back there to find out. He supposed it would be at the end of the month, which was just a few days away.

His first night working at the bar was unremarkable. The people who came in here seemed bland. The work was monotonous enough to not be bothersome, but it also meant that his mind could wander every now and then since it was a quiet weekday night.

Every time he thought about Orochimaru, he forced the thoughts from his mind. Still, he couldn't ignore the sick feeling in his stomach. His brain told him that seeing Orochimaru again would be a big mistake but his heart told him that letting him go was an even bigger one.

The photo of Kiba on the beach popped into his head as he told himself once again to think of something else. He felt his face heating up rapidly and was grateful for the distraction when the guy with the long, unruly white hair called him over for another round.

Sasuke took the two that he figured were regulars another small bottle of the cheap sake they were drinking.

"You look pretty flustered, boy," the blonde haired woman said. She leaned further onto the bar, her large breasts squishing together as she did so. "Are you struggling to keep up with the pace here? It's only a Tuesday."

Sasuke didn't usually pay much attention to women's chests, but hers was just so _obvious_, especially since her shirt was so low-cut. He looked away the moment he realised he was staring, realising he must seem even more flustered now.

The woman chuckled heartily and poured the sake for herself and her partner.

Sasuke tried his best to act cool and casual from then on, and somehow made it through the evening with no embarrassing moments and, even more of a feat, no thoughts of the men that had been on his mind so much lately.

* * *

Shikamaru sat behind the counter at his mother's bookstore, sipping on piping hot coffee whilst watching the world go by. He just loved watching people when there weren't any customers in the shop. Perhaps this was because his father was a psychologist. He had been taught to analyse people.

He watched the store across the street in a bored manner and took a little more interest when he saw the guy from Monday leaving with the newspaper again.

Shikamaru shifted in his seat so he could get a better view.

The guy was probably around his own age and looked well-built beneath his blue t-shirt. He had dark hair and pale skin, which was something Shikamaru liked.

The guy leaned against the wall, one foot pressed against the bricks, and started flipping through the paper, just as he had done on Monday. Then he walked off.

"Um, excuse me," a voice said.

Shikamaru had been so busy staring that he hadn't realised there was a customer in the store. He assisted the customer and walked outside of the store once they left.

He looked up the street for a minute or two but, of course, the dark-haired guy was gone.

* * *

Orochimaru felt annoyed. Everything had gone so well on Sunday with Sasuke – better than he'd dared to hope – and yet he had tried to call Sasuke twice during the week but to no avail.

It was Friday night. He would normally have gone for his weekend drink at the bar but after last week he wasn't sure he wanted to show his face there yet, so he'd gone straight home.

The TV was on, but he paid no mind to it. He sat with his fingers pressed to his temples, thinking. Perhaps Sasuke had just had a busy week, he thought. Surely he would have found a few minutes to return Orochimaru's calls or even just text him to explain that he was busy?

Orochimaru didn't give his heart away for nothing. He'd put too much time and emotion into Sasuke. He refused to let it go to waste.

No matter what, he _would_ make Sasuke his.


End file.
